County Port and Harbor Commission

Miss. Code Ann. tit. 59, ch. 11
in effect

Miss. Code Ann. § 59-11-1 Creation of commission.

Any county in the State of Mississippi bordering on the Mississippi Sound or the Gulf of Mexico, which has not heretofore created a county port authority or county development commission as authorized by chapter 9 of this title is hereby authorized, in the discretion of the board of supervisors of such county, as evidenced by a resolution adopted by such board of supervisors, to create a county port and harbor commission.

Miss. Code Ann. § 59-11-3 Appointment of members; terms of office; per diem.

Any county port and harbor commission created pursuant to Section 59-11-1 shall be appointed as follows: three (3) members shall be appointed by the Governor, one (1) from each of the three (3) municipalities of the county, which appointments shall be made from those persons recommended and nominated by the governing authorities of the municipalities, and shall be qualified electors of the county; and five (5) members shall be appointed by the board of supervisors of such county, each supervisor to recommend the appointment of one (1) member thereof. The members of the county port and harbor commission shall serve for terms concurrent with that of the Governor and the board of supervisors making such appointment. Each member of the county port and harbor commission shall receive per diem compensation in an amount up to Eighty-four Dollars ($84.00) for each day engaged in attendance of meetings of the county port and harbor commission or when engaged in other duties of the county port and harbor commission, and shall be reimbursed for mileage and actual travel expenses at the rate authorized for county employees under Section 25-3-41.

Miss. Code Ann. § 59-11-5 Jurisdiction of commission; payments into county port fund; special tax levy.

The county port and harbor commission shall have jurisdiction over the ports, terminals, harbors, channels, and passes leading thereto, and all vessels, boats, and wharves, common carriers and public utilities therein, using the same within the county. The board of supervisors of each such county electing to exercise the provisions of this chapter shall pay or cause to be paid into the port fund of said county a sum equal to one fourth of the sum paid into said fund under this chapter from the state tax levy and such payments shall be continued as long as there remains unpaid and outstanding any bonded indebtedness created by such board of supervisors as hereinafter provided. Any such board of supervisors shall provide the sum herein required either by appropriation from any available funds of the county or by the levy, in addition to all other county taxes, of a tax of two mills on the dollar of the assessed valuation of taxable property within such county upon which taxes for the general county fund are levied and collected. In case of a special tax levy as herein authorized, the tax collector of each such county shall set aside the avails of such levy and shall pay the same directly into the port fund of such county. However, no part of such two mill levy shall be reimbursable under the homestead exemption laws of the State of Mississippi.

Miss. Code Ann. § 59-11-7 Powers and duties of commission; right of county to receive state ad valorem tax for port improvement.

The county port and harbor commission shall have the powers and duties vested in the county port authority or the county development commission by Chapter 9 of this Title. However, no county in which a county port and harbor commission has been created, as provided in this chapter, shall be entitled to receive any portion of the state ad valorem tax made available for port improvement purposes under the provisions of Section 59-7-103, unless and until such county has made application to the Mississippi Board of Economic Development, and such board shall first adjudicate and determine the feasibility of the project for which application for such funds is made, as provided in Section 59-7-103.

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